Charging stations look simple. Then the electric bill arrives.
The Charge Sheet is a free, honest guide to how EV charging works, what it really costs, and whether it's worth doing. No sales pitch. Written by someone who built a charging company and learned most of this the expensive way.
Three things most people learn too late.
All three come from real sites. None of them show up in a brochure.
The gap in daily sessions per charger between the best and worst real sites we measured. Same kind of hardware. Very different lives.
See the benchmarksCharging attempts that failed at one real network, while it reported uptime in the high nineties. Uptime and working are not the same thing.
Why that happensOne month's electric bill for a fast charger that ran exactly one session. Blame the demand charge, then learn how to beat it.
Meet the demand chargeRead it in order. Or don't.
Eight short guides, from what happens inside the cable to paying for it and running a fleet depot. Each one stands on its own.
- 1How charging worksWhat actually happens between the plug and the battery, and why the car, not the charger, is in charge.9 min
- 2The businessWhere the money comes from, where it goes, and the electric bill that ruins most spreadsheets.8 min
- 3It's a real estate businessWhy the address decides everything, and how to underwrite a charging site like the development it really is.7 min
- 4Paying for itCash, grants or a loan: the three ways to fund a site, and why most people should finance.9 min
- 5BatteriesWhat storage fixes, what it earns, and the tax rules that can hand you 30% back or nothing at all.11 min
- 6ConnectivityThe invisible part of every charger, and the cause of more "it's broken" than anything with a power module in it.7 min
- 7BuyingWhat to ask vendors, what a good answer sounds like, and when to politely leave the meeting.8 min
- 8Fleet chargingCharging curves, the 80% rule, and why the people moving the cars matter as much as the chargers.8 min
Then run the numbers.
Free tools, no sign-up. Every assumption is visible, and you can change all of them.
Site planner
What a site costs to build and run, what it earns, and how many sessions it needs before it stops losing money. Batteries included, literally.
Open the site plannerInstall cost estimator
Wire sizes, conduit, trenching, gear and concrete, priced from how far the chargers sit from the electrical room. Distance gets expensive fast.
Estimate an installSBA loan check
How much you'd borrow, what it costs a month, and whether your cash flow covers it the way a lender will want to see.
Check a loanFleet throughput
How many vehicles a depot or lot can charge in a day, what stopping at 80% buys you, and Level 2 against DC fast for your fleet.
Model a fleetUtilization forecast
How busy a site will be, from the traffic or people already there. Gives you a range, because anyone who gives you one number is guessing.
Forecast a siteConnectivity check
Grade the cellular signal where the charger will stand, and get a setup that won't leave drivers staring at "authorizing."
Check a siteReal sites. Real numbers.
Sessions per charging port per day at real operating US sites. Actual results, anonymized, not forecasts. The spread is the story.